What CSRD software must do

CSRD requires reporting against the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS) — not just a carbon number, but a structured, assured and digitally tagged sustainability statement. After the Omnibus I simplification, the Commission cut the volume of mandatory ESRS data points by roughly 61% and kept double materiality as the foundation, but the core capabilities your software has to handle are unchanged. Use this as a checklist when you evaluate any CSRD tool:

This page is a category overview — what CSRD software is, what it must do and where it applies. If you are ready to compare named products head-to-head, see our dedicated best CSRD software guide, and for the regional detail our CSRD software for Europe page.

CSRD in 2026: who reports, after Omnibus

The CSRD still applies — but to far fewer companies than originally planned. The Omnibus I directive was published in the EU's Official Journal on 26 February 2026 and entered into force on 18 March 2026. It reshaped scope and timing in three ways that determine whether you need CSRD software now:

• Higher size threshold. CSRD now broadly applies to undertakings with more than 1,000 employees and net turnover above €450 million, up from the previous 250-employee / €50 million bar — narrowing scope substantially.
• Delayed waves. The largest public-interest entities (the original wave 1, 500+ employees) have reported since financial year 2024. The remaining waves were pushed back: in-scope large companies generally apply the simplified ESRS from financial year 2027, with voluntary early application possible.
• Simplified ESRS, same backbone. Double materiality remains the foundational principle and ESRS 2 general disclosures still apply to all reporters; topic disclosures now follow materiality, with mandatory data points cut by around 61%.

The practical takeaway: if your group is in scope, the hard part — an auditable Scope 1–3 inventory and value-chain data — is the same as before, so it is best started early. And because CSRD-reporting customers pull data from their suppliers, many out-of-scope SMEs still need a proportionate way to respond (see VSME, below).

CSRD software for SMEs: the VSME standard

Most small and mid-sized companies are not directly in CSRD scope after Omnibus — but they are pulled in indirectly. Larger, in-scope companies have to report on their value chains, so they ask suppliers and portfolio companies for emissions and ESG data. The EU's answer is the VSME — the Voluntary Sustainability Reporting Standard for non-listed SMEs, developed by EFRAG and taken forward by the Commission as a simplified, standardised template for exactly these requests.

Omnibus I also introduced a value-chain cap: a CSRD-reporting company generally cannot require a value-chain partner with 1,000 employees or fewer to provide information beyond what the voluntary standard sets out. In practice that makes VSME the sensible ceiling for SME reporting. The best CSRD software therefore covers both ends of the spectrum — full CSRD/ESRS for large reporters and a proportionate VSME path for the SMEs answering their requests — so a group never has to run two tools or rebuild its numbers. CarbonTool does exactly this from one data backbone; for a product shortlist see best CSRD software.

Why CarbonTool is our #1 CSRD software

CSRD is a reporting problem built on a data problem. CarbonTool starts with the data — an auditable Scope 1, 2 and 3 inventory on GHG-Protocol methodology — and maps it to ESRS, then to the other frameworks you owe, all from one source of truth:

See how the reporting and carbon accounting modules turn one inventory into a CSRD/ESRS statement, how larger groups use enterprise carbon accounting to consolidate entities, and compare plans on the pricing page.

CSRD software by region

CSRD software in Europe

CSRD is an EU directive, so Europe is its home ground. In-scope EU companies report against ESRS with a double-materiality assessment and file a digitally tagged statement, and the EU Taxonomy and CBAM add further demands — so framework breadth and EU data residency matter most. CarbonTool is built by an EU-rooted team and covers CSRD, VSME and the EU Taxonomy alongside GRI, CDP, ISSB and PCAF from one data backbone. For the full regional detail, see our CSRD software for Europe guide, and country pages for Germany and beyond.

CSRD software in the UK

The United Kingdom is not in scope of CSRD — since Brexit it runs its own regime (SECR, TCFD-aligned disclosures and the ISSB-based UK SRS). But CSRD can still reach UK businesses: a UK subsidiary or branch of an EU group may be captured by its parent's reporting, and a UK-headquartered group with substantial EU activity can be caught directly. The same CarbonTool backbone that produces a UK SECR/TCFD/UK SRS report also maps to CSRD/ESRS where an EU operation is in scope — so a UK group reports once. See our carbon accounting software for the UK guide for the domestic rules.

CSRD software in the United States

US companies are not subject to CSRD as such, but a US-headquartered group with significant EU activity can be caught, and US subsidiaries of EU parents are pulled into value-chain data requests. Alongside CSRD readiness, US buyers also weigh California's SB 253/261 and customer-driven supplier requests. CarbonTool covers CSRD/ESRS and VSME for the EU exposure while supporting the spend-based and supplier-specific Scope 3 work US programmes lean on — see our carbon accounting software for the USA guide.

Globally

CSRD's reach is extraterritorial, so multinationals everywhere need software that consolidates entities across borders and reports in multiple currencies and languages. CarbonTool serves companies from Romania and across Europe to the UK, the Middle East, Asia and the Americas, with multi-entity consolidation so a global group can roll up the whole organisation, report once and answer value-chain requests with the same numbers.